Mississippi abortion clinic continues to fight new law

JACKSON: Mississippi: The Jackson Women's Health Organization, Mississippi's only abortion clinic, filed for an injunction this week to delay enforcement of a law that would close its doors.[1] House Bill 1390 was passed in April, and requires doctors at abortion clinics to obtain admitting privileges at a hospital. The doctors at the Jackson Women's Health Organization have not been able to obtain those privileges, despite a ruling in July that gave the clinic extra time to comply with the law and protected it from penalties.

Although House Bill 1390 is strictly a regulatory law, it is challenged on the grounds that it would close the only dedicated abortion facility in the state and would thereby violate a woman's federally protected right to have an abortion. Opponents of the law hope to have it struck down in a federal court.